One For the Angels, Part 5 (Conversations With Dead People Challenge)

by JMBauhausoriginally published at 07:01PM on Thursday, April 10, 2008mature

“I’m ready to retire,” he said, his tone conversational, as if I wasn’t coughing my lungs out. He lit a cigarette. I wiped the slobber from my mouth. My hand came away red. “Had to find a replacement first. Someone who could stand this job. I gotta say, I had my doubts about you, that night on the bridge. But you pulled yourself together and proved your mettle.”

I just stared at him as he took another leisurely drag. I couldn’t draw breath. Fuck this. I started to crawl toward the door. This was a goddamn hospital, wasn’t it? Where the hell were all the doctors?

“I’m proud of you, kid. You’re gonna make a great agent.”

I collapsed on the ground. “Who… who are you?” I croaked.

He came over to crouch beside me. “You know who I am. I mean, who I used to be. That title’s yours now.” He patted me on the back. Then he held up his cigarette and considered it. “It’s not like you didn’t get a heads up,” he said, leaning down to brandish the cigarette in my face. “I told you these things would kill you.”

THE END

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Sequels

Comments

Full disclosure: This is a shortened retelling of a story I wrote years and years ago that I never got published. I had to rewrite it from scratch, so I don’t know if this disqualifies me from the challenge.

No one gets disqualified :) I really enjoyed your series. I could kind of see where it was heading after the first ficlet, but you got me with the jump in time and the passing of the torch, so to speak. Great work!LoA